Termination of wireless transmission of a data frame

ABSTRACT

Example operations may include initiating wireless transmission of a first data frame of data designated for wireless transmission. The wireless transmission of the first data frame may be via a first wireless signal packet configured to carry the data of the first data frame. The operations include directing termination of the wireless transmission of the first data frame via the first wireless signal packet prior to wireless transmission, via the first wireless signal packet, of all of the data of the first data frame. In addition, the operations include directing, in response to termination of transmission of the first data frame, wireless transmission of a termination signal, the termination signal indicating that transmission of the first data frame via the first wireless signal packet terminated prior to completion of transmission of all of the data of the first data frame via the first wireless signal packet.

FIELD

The implementations discussed in the present disclosure relate totermination of wireless transmission of a data frame.

BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise indicated in the present disclosure, the materialsdescribed in the present disclosure are not prior art to the claims inthe present application and are not admitted to be prior art byinclusion in this background section.

Some wireless communication protocols (e.g., the IEEE 802.11 standard)are such that once a device begins transmitting a frame of data (“dataframe” or “frame”) over a particular wireless channel (e.g., using aparticular carrier frequency), the particular channel is unavailable fortransmission of other frames until transmission of the current frame hasfinished.

The subject matter claimed in the present disclosure is not limited toimplementations that solve any disadvantages or that operate only inenvironments such as those described above. Rather, this background isonly provided to illustrate one example technology area where someimplementations described in the present disclosure may be practiced.

SUMMARY

Example operations may include initiating wireless transmission of afirst data frame of data designated for wireless transmission. Thewireless transmission of the first data frame may be via a firstwireless signal packet configured to carry the data of the first dataframe. The operations include directing termination of the wirelesstransmission of the first data frame via the first wireless signalpacket prior to wireless transmission, via the first wireless signalpacket, of all of the data of the first data frame. In addition, theoperations include directing, in response to termination of transmissionof the first data frame, wireless transmission of a termination signal,the termination signal indicating that transmission of the first dataframe via the first wireless signal packet terminated prior tocompletion of transmission of all of the data of the first data framevia the first wireless signal packet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example implementations will be described and explained with additionalspecificity and detail using the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A illustrates an example environment within which wirelesscommunication of a data frame may be terminated prematurely;

FIG. 1B illustrates an example instance in which transmission of a lowerpriority frame may impinge on a protected time slot of a time period;

FIG. 1C illustrates an example of transmission of a frame;

FIG. 1D illustrates an example representation of the effect of prematuretermination of transmission of the frame of FIG. 1C;

FIG. 1E illustrates an example sequence of operations that may beperformed with respect to a first device prematurely terminatingwireless transmission of a data frame that is received by a seconddevice;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example computing system thatmay be used to perform or direct performance of one or more operationsdescribed according to at least one implementation of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example method of terminating transmissionof a data frame; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example method of receiving a terminationsignal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Implementations described herein may generally include systems andmethods related to terminating wireless transmission of a data frameprior to all of the data of the data frame being transmitted. Further,the systems and methods may be related to generation and detection of atermination signal that indicates that the transmission of the dataframe has ended prematurely. The early termination of data frametransmission and subsequent transmission and detection of acorresponding termination signal may allow for the transmission ofhigher priority data to interrupt and supersede the transmission oflower priority data.

For example, the early termination of data frame transmission andsubsequent transmission and detection of a corresponding terminationsignal may facilitate the use of wireless communication in thetransmission of time-sensitive data, which may prioritize thetransmission of some data over other data. For instance, theimplementations described herein may allow for interruption oftransmission of data frames that are not time-sensitive data such thattime-sensitive data frames may be transmitted instead. Exampleenvironments and instances that may incorporate time-sensitivenetworking include control networks, safety-critical networks, and mixedmedia environments that communicate data that may have varying levels oftiming sensitivity and priority. Example mixed media environments mayinclude Internet of Things (IoT) environments where the timedcommunication of data by one or more of the “things” may be moreimportant than that of other “things” (e.g., data communicated by a firealarm, a security alarm, etc. may be more time-critical than thatcommunicated by a network-connected refrigerator). Other mixed mediaenvironments may include vehicle networks that support climate control,infotainment, body electronics, and/or driver assistance.

As further context, in some wireless networks (e.g., IEEE 802.11networks) a communication channel of a shared wireless communicationmedium (e.g., a particular carrier frequency) is used to wirelesslytransmit data between devices. In these or other implementations, thetransmission protocol may be contention based in that in that thedevices may “contend” for use of the particular channel. Further, once adevice obtains use of the particular channel, typically only that devicetransmits over the particular channel and the other devices contendingfor use of the particular channel have to wait until that device is donetransmitting before being able to transmit over the particular channel.

Additionally, data that is scheduled to be transmitted is typicallyorganized into clusters of data that may be referred to as data frames(or simply “frames”). Depending on the communication protocol (e.g.,modulation scheme, bits per symbol, symbol rate, etc.) and the amount ofdata included in a particular frame, it may take a particular amount oftime to transmit all of the data of the particular frame. In these orother implementations, a particular time period that corresponds to theparticular amount of time (including a buffer in some instances) may beallocated for the transmission of the particular frame by acorresponding device. Further, transmission of another frame after theparticular frame typically begins after transmission of the particularframe has finished (e.g., after the allocated time period has passed).However, as indicated above, there may be some instances in which it maybe advantageous to begin transmission of another frame beforetransmission of the particular frame has finished.

Therefore, as indicated above, according to one or more implementationsof the present disclosure, systems and methods may relate to thetermination of wireless transmission of a frame prior to all of the dataof the frame being transmitted. In the present disclosure, reference totransmission of a frame or data of a frame may include the transmissionof a wireless signal (e.g., an electromagnetic wave) that has the dataof the frame modulated thereon such that the wireless signal isconfigured to wirelessly carry the data of the frame. Further, referenceto termination of a frame may refer to termination of transmission ofthe frame. In addition, termination of transmission of a frame or thedata of the frame and reference thereof may include the termination ofthe wireless signal that is configured to carry the data of the frame.

As also indicated above, implementations described herein may alsoinclude the transmission of a termination signal in which thetermination signal indicates that transmission of the frame has beenterminated. The termination signal may be such that other devices withinthe wireless network (e.g., the device to which the frame is intendedand/or other devices that may use a same channel of a shared wirelesscommunication medium) may identify the termination signal. In these orother implementations as described in further detail below, one or moreof the other devices may determine that the frame has been prematurelyterminated in response to identifying the termination signal.Additionally or alternatively, the other devices may prepare for thecommunication of another frame over the channel in response todetermining that transmission of the frame has been terminated.

In contrast, without the transmission and identification of thetermination signal, the receiving device of the terminated frame may notknow if the frame was intentionally terminated prematurely and maycontinue to expect to receive the remainder of the data of theterminated frame rather than prepare for the reception of another frame.Additionally or alternatively, one or more other devices that areconnected to the wireless network may be configured to avoid performingone or more transmitting and/or receiving operations during an allocatedtime period for transmission of the terminated frame. As such, withouttransmission and identification of the termination signal, the one ormore other devices may not be in a state that is ready to transmit orreceive frames until after the allocated time period has passed eventhough premature termination of the frame may open the channel forwireless communications prior to the termination of the allocated timeframe.

The transmission of the termination signal to indicate termination ofthe frame may thus prepare the wireless network (e.g., the devicescommunicating via the wireless network) for communication of anotherframe during a time period that would otherwise be reserved forcommunication of the terminated frame. As such, the transmission of thetermination signal may allow for transmitting at least a portion of ahigher priority frame over a particular channel before transmission ofall the data of a of a lower priority frame transmitted over theparticular channel has finished. As indicated above, such allowance mayhelp facilitate the wireless transmission of time-sensitive data such asthat communicated as part of time-sensitive networking.

These and other implementations of the present disclosure will beexplained with reference to the accompanying figures. It is to beunderstood that the figures are diagrammatic and schematicrepresentations of such example implementations, and are not limiting,nor are they necessarily drawn to scale. In the figures, features withlike numbers indicate like structure and function unless describedotherwise.

FIG. 1A illustrates an example environment 100 within which wirelesscommunication of a data frame may be terminated prematurely. Theenvironment 100 may be configured according to one or moreimplementations of the present disclosure. The environment 100 mayinclude one or more of many different types of environments. Forexample, the environment 100 may include, individually or any suitablecombination thereof, a home environment, an IoT environment, a vehicleenvironment, or any other suitable environment that may include orincorporate a wireless network to facilitate the communication of databetween devices. In the present example, the environment 100 may includea first device 102, a second device 104, a third device 106, and afourth device 108 all configured to wirelessly communicate with eachother via a wireless network 110. However, the elements listed andoperations thereof are not meant to be limiting, but merely used toprovide an example implementation of the present disclosure.

The wireless network 110 may include any suitable network that may beestablished to wirelessly communicate data between devices. For example,the network 110 may include a wireless local area network (LAN) and/or awireless telecommunications network. For instance, the network 110 mayinclude or be configured to include a cellular network (e.g., 4G, 5G,LTE, network), a wireless fidelity network (e.g., 802.11 WI-FI®network), a BLUETOOTH® network, a Z-WAVE® network, an INSTEON® network,an ENOCEAN® network, a ZIGBEE® network, a HOMEPLUG® network, etc. Insome implementations, the wireless network 110 may be communicativelycoupled to or included in another network such as a wide area network(WAN) (e.g., the Internet) and/or any other suitable interconnected datapaths across which multiple devices may communicate.

In some implementations, the wireless network 110 may be acontention-based network. As indicated above, a contention-basedwireless network may include multiple devices that “contend” for use ofa communication channel of a shared wireless communication medium (e.g.,use of a particular transmission frequency) rather than sticking to astrictly scheduled basis for use of the channel. Further, once a devicehas gained use of the communication channel and begins transmitting adata frame over a particular channel of the wireless network, thetransmission of a subsequent frame is delayed until after thetransmission of the frame currently being transmitted has finished.

In these or other implementations, the wireless network 110 may also beconfigured to facilitate Time-Sensitive Networking (“TSN”) in which datathat is being transmitted over networks, including wireless networks, istime-sensitive in that when the time-sensitive data is transmitted maybe important. For example, the wireless network 110 may be configuredsuch that certain periods of time are reserved for communication oftime-sensitive data. Other periods of time may be reserved for typicalcommunication of data that may be lower priority or less time sensitive“non-time sensitive data”. The reserved time periods may be referred toas “protected time slots” and the other time periods may be referred toas “unprotected time slots.” However, as explained further below, thecontention-based nature of gaining access to the channel for frametransmission may cause non-time sensitive data to impinge on protectedtime slots.

As explained in detail below, in some implementations, the communicationof frames within the wireless network 110 may be such that thetransmission of a frame may be terminated prematurely to free up thecorresponding channel for communication of another frame with a highertransmission priority. For example, in some instances, the transmissionof a frame of data that may not be time sensitive (“lower priorityframe”) may impinge on a protected time slot such that it may beadvantageous to prematurely terminate the transmission of the lowerpriority frame to allow for the transmission of a frame of timesensitive data (“higher priority frame”) within the protected time slot.

FIG. 1B illustrates an example instance in which transmission of a lowerpriority frame 132 may impinge on a protected time slot 126 of a timeperiod 120 such that early termination of the lower priority frame 132may be advantageous. The situation of FIG. 1B is merely to illustrate anexample situation in which implementation of the concepts described inthe present disclosure may be used and is not meant to be limiting.

As illustrated in FIG. 1B, the time period 120 may be divided intodifferent time slots that may include protected time slots 122 and 126and unprotected time slots 124 and 128. Although the protected timeslots 122 and 126 and the unprotected time slots 124 and 128 areillustrated as being of the same duration, the durations of theprotected time slots 122 and 126 may differ from those of theunprotected time slots 124 and 128 in some implementations. In these orother implementations, the durations of the protected time slots 122 and126 may differ from each other. Additionally or alternatively, thedurations of the unprotected time slots 124 and 128 may also differ fromeach other.

As illustrated in FIG. 1B, lower priority frames 130 and may bescheduled for transmission in the unprotected time slot 124 during MediaAccess Control (MAC) layer scheduling of data transmission. In addition,a higher priority (e.g., time sensitive) frame 134 may be scheduled fortransmission in the protected time slot 126 during the MAC layerscheduling. As illustrated in FIG. 1B, the lower priority frame 132 maybe scheduled to finish transmission at time “t1” during the unprotectedtime slot 122. Further, the higher priority frame 134 may be scheduledto begin transmission at time “t2” when the unprotected time slot 124ends and the protected time slot 126 begins. In some implementations,and as illustrated in FIG. 1B, an amount of time between “t1” and “t2”may be allocated as a guard-band between transmissions to help ensurethat the operations statuses of any applicable devices of the wirelessnetwork 110 have changed, as may be needed, to account for a change fromthe transmission of the lower priority frame 132 to the higher priorityframe 134.

As also illustrated in FIG. 1B, in some instances, the MAC layerscheduling of frame transmission may not correspond to the actual timingof transmission of the frames at the Physical (PHY) layer. For example,the lower priority frame 130 may begin transmission later thanscheduled, which may cause the lower priority frame 132 to begintransmission later than scheduled. In some instances, the timingdiscrepancies may be due to the contention on the shared channel inwhich it may take time for the devices that are allocated to transmitthe frames to actually gain access to the channel and begincommunication. As illustrated in FIG. 1B, the discrepancies may be suchthat the lower priority frame 132 may not end transmission until aftertime “t2” and such that the higher priority frame 134 may not begintransmission until a time “t3.” In instances in which transmission ofthe higher priority frame 134 is time sensitive, such a situation maycreate problems. Therefore, as described in further detail below,according to one or more implementations of the present disclosure, thetransmission of the lower priority frame 132 may be terminatedprematurely (e.g., at time “t1”) such that transmission of the higherpriority frame 134 may begin at time “t2”.

In these or other implementations, the remainder of the data of thelower priority frame 132 that was not transmitted before the terminationof the lower priority frame 132 may be transmitted after the higherpriority frame 134 has finished being transmitted. For example, in someimplementations, the remainder of the data of the lower priority frame132 may begin to be transmitted at time “t4” when the protected timeslot 126 ends and the unprotected time slot 128 begins. In these orother implementations, the remainder of the data of the lower priorityframe may be transmitted as part of a new frame.

As indicated above, modifications, additions, or omissions may be madeto FIG. 1B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.For example, in some instances, the transmission of the lower priorityframe 132 may be terminated at or before time “t2” even if there is nohigher priority frame scheduled for transmission (e.g., the higherpriority frame 134) because transmission of the lower priority frame 132would still impinge on the protected time slot 126. Additionally oralternatively, transmission of the lower priority frame 132 may beterminated prematurely even if it would not impinge on the protectedtime slot 126 if it would still impinge on the transmission time of thehigher priority frame 134. Further, in some implementations, the timeperiod 120 may not be divided into protected time slots and unprotectedtime slots. In addition, the representations of the frames and times areonly meant to indicate the timing of when data of the frames is beingtransmitted. The representation is not meant to illustrate the specificwireless signal used to carry the corresponding data of the frames.

Returning to FIG. 1A, each of the first device 102, the second device104, the third device 106, and the fourth device 108 (referred tocollectively as “the devices”) may include any suitable system or deviceconfigured to perform wireless communications. For example, one or moreof first device 102, the second device 104, the third device 106, andthe fourth device 108 may operate as an access point of the wirelessnetwork 110. An access point of the wireless network 110 may include anysuitable system or device that may establish the wireless network 110and/or communicatively couple the wireless network 110 with anothernetwork. By way of the example, the access point(s) may include agateway, a repeater, a mesh node, and/or other suitable access pointthat wirelessly couples the other devices of the wireless network 110 toeach other and/or to another network (e.g., the Internet and/or a corenetwork via a bridge, a backhaul link, a base station, and/or othersuitable devices or connections).

Additionally or alternatively, one or more of first device 102, thesecond device 104, the third device 106, and the fourth device 108 mayoperate as a node of the wireless network 110. For example, a node ofthe wireless network 110 may generally include any device that has thecapability to wirelessly connect to an access point of the wirelessnetwork 110 according to any suitable wireless standard of the wirelessnetwork 110 (e.g., the 802.11 standards). By way of example, the node(s)may include a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, amobile phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smarttelevision, or any other suitable device. In some implementations, eachof the first device 102, the second device 104, the third device 106,and the fourth device 108 may include or be included in a computingsystem such as the computing system 202 described with respect to FIG.2.

The first device 102 may include a first transceiver system 112 a, thesecond device 104 may include a second transceiver system 112 b, thethird device 106 may include a third transceiver system 112 c, and thefourth device 108 may include a fourth transceiver system 112 d. Thetransceiver systems 112 may include any suitable, system, apparatus, ordevice that may be configured to effectuate the transmission andreception of wireless signals.

For example, one or more of the transceiver systems 112 may include anantenna configured to receive wireless signals (e.g., modulatedelectromagnetic waves) and configured to convert the received wirelesssignals into corresponding analog electrical signals (referred to as“received analog signals”). The one or more transceiver systems 112 mayinclude one or more analog components configured to perform anyapplicable analog operations on the received analog signals. In these orother implementations, the one or more transceiver systems 112 mayinclude an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) configured to convert thereceived analog signals into corresponding digital signals (referred toas “received digital signals”). The one or more transceiver systems 112may include receiver digital circuitry configured to process thereceived digital signals and corresponding data of the received digitalsignals. Additionally or alternatively, the receiver digital circuitrymay be configured to direct operations related to the reception andprocessing of wireless signals. One or more elements of the receiverdigital circuitry may be hardware that is custom designed to perform oneor more of the receiver operations. Additionally or alternatively, oneor more of the elements of the receiver digital circuitry may include acomputing system that is programmed to perform certain operations usingcomputer-executable instructions. For example, one or more elements of acomputing system 200 of FIG. 2 may be included in or part of thereceiver digital circuitry in some implementations.

In these or other implementations, one or more of the transceiversystems 112 may include transmitter digital circuitry configured togenerate digital signals for wireless transmission referred to as“transmission digital signals.” Additionally or alternatively, thetransmitter digital circuitry may be configured to direct operationsrelated to the transmission of wireless signals. Like the receiverdigital circuitry, one or more elements of the transmitter digitalcircuitry may be hardware that is custom designed to perform one or moreof the transmitter operations. Additionally or alternatively, one ormore of the elements of the transmitter digital circuitry may include acomputing system that is programmed to perform certain operations usingcomputer-executable instructions. For example, one or more elements of acomputing system 200 of FIG. 2 may be included in or part of thetransmitter digital circuitry in some implementations. Further, in someimplementations, the receiver digital circuitry and the transmitterdigital circuitry may be completely separate. Additionally oralternatively, the receiver digital circuitry and the transmitterdigital circuitry may include one or more of the same hardwarecomponents. For example, in some implementations, the same computingsystem may be used as part of the transmitter digital circuitry and thereceiver digital circuitry.

In some implementations, the one or more transceiver systems 112 mayinclude a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) configured to convert thetransmission digital signals into corresponding transmission analogsignals. The transmission analog signals may be directed toward anantenna (e.g., the same antenna used to receive wireless signals or adifferent antenna), which may convert the transmission analog signalsinto wireless signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. In someimplementations the one or more transceiver systems 112 may include oneor more analog components configured to perform any applicable analogoperations on the transmission analog signals prior to directing thetransmission analog signals to the antenna. Further, in the presentdisclosure reference to “hardware” performing operations may include oneor more of the elements of the devices (e.g., of the transceiver systems112 performing operations). In addition, reference to “hardware”performing operations may include operations that are performed asdirected by software in the form of computer-executable instructions.

As indicated above, the transceiver systems 112 may be configured totransmit and receive data that is bundled together as frames. Further,as indicated above, the frames may be communicated via wireless signalsthat have the data of the frames modulated thereon. In these or otherimplementations, the wireless signals may be modulated to carry acertain amount of data (e.g., a certain number of bits) at any one time.In some modulations, the signal is subdivided into smaller entitiescalled symbols. Symbols have fixed duration and each carry a number ofbits determined by the modulation. Therefore, the data of the frames maybe divided into portions that are transmitted via corresponding symbols.Further, the number symbols used and amount of time to send all of thedata of the frames may also accordingly depend on the amount of data inthe frame, the number of bits per symbol, and the symbol rate. In thepresent disclosure, burst of electromagnetic energy in the form of theparticular wireless signal that transmits a particular frame of data maybe referred to as a “wireless signal packet” or “signal packet.” Forexample, the transmission of a first frame of data may be via a firstburst of a modulated electromagnetic wave that may be considered a firstsignal packet. Similarly, the transmission of a second frame of data maybe via a separate second burst of a modulated electromagnetic wave thatmay be considered a second signal packet.

FIG. 1C illustrates an example of transmission of a frame 140 accordingto one or more implementations of the present disclosure. The frame 140may include a header portion 142 and a payload portion 144. The headerportion 142 may include information that provides information about theway the data of the frame 140 is encoded into the signal. For example,the header portion may include information that indicates from whichdevice the frame 140 was transmitted and to which device the frame 140is intended for reception. Further, the header portion 142 may includeinformation indicating the overall length (e.g., number of symbols) ofthe frame 140, including the length (e.g., number of symbols) of thepayload portion 144. For example, the header portion 142 may indicatethe amount of data (e.g., number of bits) that may be included in thepayload portion and based on the number of bits per symbol and amount ofdata, the number of symbols may be determined. Similarly, the headerportion 142 may indicate an amount of time for transmission of the frame140. For example, the amount of time may be determined based on thenumber of symbols and the symbol rate. The payload portion 144 mayinclude the data that is scheduled to be transmitted.

The example of the frame 140 also illustrates dividing the frame 140according to symbols 146. In particular, the header portion 142 isillustrated as being communicated via a first header symbol 146 a, asecond header symbol 146 b, and a third header symbol 146 c.Additionally, the payload portion 144 is illustrated as beingcommunicated via a first payload symbol 148 a, a second payload symbol148 b, a third payload symbol 148 c, a fifth payload symbol 148 d, and asixth payload symbol 148 f. The illustration of the frame 140 anddividing of the data of the frame 140 according to symbols is merely forillustrative purposes and is not limiting with respect to othergroupings of data of the frame 140. For example, the structure anddividing of the data of the frame 140 at the MAC layer (e.g., thedigital signal processing layer with operations that may be performed bydigital circuitry such as the transmission digital circuitry) may bedifferent from what is illustrated in FIG. 1C. For instance, the headerdata of the header portion 142 may be divided into header sub-portionsat the MAC layer that do not necessarily coincide with the divisions ofthe data according to symbols as illustrated. For example, the data of aparticular header sub-portion may be transmitted over multiple symbols.Additionally or alternatively, at least some of the data of theparticular header sub-portion and at least some of the data of anotherheader sub-portion may be transmitted over a same symbol. The structureand the dividing of the payload data at the MAC layer may similarlydiffer from that illustrated in FIG. 1C. Further, the number of symbolsillustrated in FIG. 1C is merely to provide an illustration of theconcepts and is not meant to be limiting.

FIG. 1C also illustrates an example wireless signal packet 150 (“signalpacket 150”) that may be modulated with the data of a particular frame(e.g., the frame 140). The modulated signal packet 150 may betransmitted such that the signal packet 150 may “carry” the data of theparticular frame for wireless transmission of the particular frame. Aswith the frame 140, the illustration of the signal packet 150 is meantto help convey concepts and the actual characteristics of any givensignal packet may vary from that illustrated. Further, the number ofsymbols included in the illustrated signal packet 150 does notnecessarily coincide with the number of symbols illustrated with respectto the frame 140. However, in instances in which the signal packet 150corresponds to the frame 140, the signal packet 150 would coincide withthe frame 140 in any applicable manner, such coincidence is merely notillustrated.

As also discussed in further detail below, in some instances,transmission of a particular frame may be prematurely terminated.Additionally or alternatively, a termination signal may be transmittedto indicate the premature transmission of termination. The terminationsignal may be transmitted instead of continuing transmission of thecorresponding signal packet carrying the data of the frame. As such,transmission of the termination signal may replace transmission of theremaining data of the particular frame that has not yet beentransmitted. For example, a transmitting device that was transmittingthe particular frame may transmit the termination signal instead ofcontinuing to transmit symbols of the corresponding signal packet thatmay have the data of the particular frame modulated thereon. However,the duration of transmission of the termination signal may be less thanthe amount of time that it would take to transmit the remaining data ofthe particular frame. As such, the wireless channel used fortransmission of the particular frame may be available for transmissionof the higher priority frame sooner than it otherwise would be.

The termination signal may be configured to convey that prematuretermination of transmission of the particular frame has occurred. Forexample, in some implementations, the termination signal may beconfigured for low-level detection and recognition. In these or otherimplementations, the termination signal may include one or moredetection properties that may be detected with relative ease and arelatively low amount of processing to help facilitate the determinationby a receiving device (e.g., the first device 102, the second device104, the third device 106, and/or the fourth device 108) thattransmission of the particular frame was purposefully terminatedprematurely.

For instance, in some implementations, the termination signal may have aparticular self-contained detection property. In the present disclosure,a “self-contained” detection property may include a simple physicalcharacteristic of the electromagnetic wave that makes up the terminationsignal. For example, the self-contained detection property may include arepeating amplitude pattern of the termination signal. Additionally oralternatively, the self-contained detection property may include arepeating frequency or phase pattern of the termination signal. In theseor other implementations, the self-contained detection property may be aparticular auto-correlation property or cross-correlation property. Assuch, in some implementations, the termination signal may include asignal sequence that may have a particular detection property. Forinstance, the termination signal may include a particularauto-correlation sequence or a particular cross-correlation sequence.

In these or other implementations, different configurations of thetermination signal may indicate other information associated with thetermination of transmission in addition to indication of prematuretermination. For example, a first termination signal may have a firstdetection property that may indicate that acknowledgement of receptionof the termination signal is requested. Similarly, and a secondtermination signal may have a second detection property that mayindicate that acknowledgement of reception of the termination signal isnot requested.

Additionally or alternatively, the termination signal may be a modulatedwireless signal that includes one or more symbols in which the data ofthe symbols indicates that premature termination of transmission of theparticular frame has occurred. In these or other implementations, thedata of the symbols may include additional information related to thetermination of transmission of the particular data frame.

FIG. 1D illustrates an example representation of the effect of prematuretermination of transmission of the frame 140 of FIG. 1C. As illustratedin FIG. 1D, the last symbol of the frame 140 that may be transmittedbefore termination may be the second payload symbol 148 b. As alsoillustrated in FIG. 1D, a termination signal 152 may be transmittedrather than the remaining payload symbols 148 c, 148 d, 148 e, and 148f. As also indicated by a comparison between FIGS. 1C and 1D, theduration of the termination signal 152 may be less than the duration ofunsent payload symbols 148 c, 148 d, 148 e, and 148 f. As such, thecorresponding wireless channel may be opened for use prior than itotherwise would be. The representation of transmission of thetermination signal 150 instead of the payload symbols 148 c, 148 d, 148e, and 148 f is merely to help illustrate the replacement oftransmission of data of the frame 140 with the transmission of thetermination signal 152 and should not be construed as being completelyaccurate from a technical standpoint.

FIG. 1D also illustrates an example representation of prematuretermination of a frame at the signal packet level. In particular, FIG.1D illustrates premature termination of the signal packet 150 of FIG.1C. As illustrated in FIG. 1D, transmission of the signal packet 150 maybe terminated prematurely and a termination signal 154 may betransmitted instead. As such, all of the data that would otherwise becarried by the signal packet 150 may not be transmitted and thetransmission of the unsent data may be replaced by the terminationsignal 154. As also indicated by a comparison between FIGS. 1C and 1D,the duration of the termination signal 154 may be less than the durationof the unsent portion of the signal packet 150. As such, thecorresponding wireless channel may be opened for use prior than itotherwise would be. Additionally, the illustrated termination signal 154has a repeating sequence of a particular amplitude pattern that may beused to identify the termination signal 154.

Returning to FIG. 1A, in some implementations, the transceiver systems112 a, 112 b, 112 c, and 112 d, may each include a termination signaldetector (“T.S. detector”) 114 a, 114 b, 114 c, and 114 d, respectively.The T.S. detectors 114 may be configured to monitor received signals todetect whether reception of a termination signal by the correspondingtransceiver systems 114 has occurred. The T.S. detectors 114 may beimplemented in hardware (e.g., analog and/or digital circuitry),software (e.g., computer-executable instructions stored on memory), orany suitable combination thereof. Further, the T.S. detectors 114 may beconfigured to perform the monitoring and detection in the analog domain,the digital domain, or any suitable combination thereof. By way ofexample, in some implementations one or more components of the T.S.detectors 114 may be part of receiver digital circuitry and/or thereceiver analog components of the corresponding transceiver system 112.

FIG. 1E illustrates an example sequence of operations 160 (“sequence160”) that may be performed with respect to the first device 102prematurely terminating wireless transmission of a data frame that isreceived by the second device 104, according to one or moreimplementations of the present disclosure. The operations of thesequence 160 are described at the transmitter MAC and PHY layers of thefirst device 102 and the receiver MAC and PHY layers of the seconddevice 104. The transmitter MAC layer (“Tx MAC”) of the first device 102may include any suitable component of the transceiver system 112 a thatmay be configured to perform the described transmitter MAC layeroperations. For example, the operations associated with the transmitterMAC layer may include encryption, encapsulation of the payload, frameaggregation, packet prioritization, etc. that may be performed by one ormore components of the transmitter digital circuitry. The transmitterPHY layer (“Tx PHY”) of the first device 102 may include any suitablecomponent of the transceiver system 112 a that may be configured toperform the described transmitter PHY layer operations. For example, theoperations associated with the transmitter PHY layer may includescrambling, encoding, modulation, etc. that may be performed by one ormore components of the transmitter digital circuitry. The receiver MAClayer (“Rx MAC”) of the second device 104 may include any suitablecomponent of the transceiver system 112 b that may be configured toperform the described receiver MAC layer operations. For example, theoperations associated with the receiver MAC layer may includedecryption, decapsulation of the payload, checking frame integrity,acknowledging reception of frames, etc. that may be performed by one ormore components of the receiver digital circuitry. The receiver PHYlayer (“Rx PHY”) of the second device 104 may include any suitablecomponent of the transceiver system 112 b that may be configured toperform the described receiver PHY layer operations. For example, theoperations associated with the receiver PHY layer may include channelequalization, demodulation, decoding, descrambling, etc. that may beperformed by one or more components of the receiver digital circuitry.

At operation 162, the Tx MAC may initiate wireless transmission of afirst frame of data by the Tx PHY. For example, the Tx MAC may send thedata of the first frame to the Tx PHY for modulation onto acorresponding first signal packet. For example, the Tx MAC may send theheader portion and the payload portion to the Tx PHY. In these or otherimplementations, the data of the first frame may be organized accordingto order of transmission by the Tx PHY. The data of first frame may bedesignated for wireless transmission over a particular wireless channel.Further, the first frame may be considered a lower priority frame insome instances. For example, in some instances, the data of the firstframe may be non-time sensitive data scheduled for transmission duringan unprotected time slot, such as the lower priority frame 132 of FIG.1B.

At operation 164, in response to initiation of transmission of the firstframe as received from the Tx MAC, the Tx PHY may contend for use of theparticular wireless channel during a contention period. At operation166, after obtaining the right to use the particular wireless channel,the Tx PHY may begin wireless transmission of the first frame over theparticular wireless channel. For example, the Tx PHY may modulate thedata of the first frame onto a first signal packet such that the firstsignal packet carries the data of the first frame. The Tx PHY may alsobegin transmitting the first signal packet. The first signal packet maybe a wireless signal transmitted at the frequency of the particularwireless channel and that has the data of the first frame modulatedthereon.

At operation 168, the Rx PHY may detect the first signal packet, andaccordingly may detect transmission of the first frame. For example, thefirst signal packet may include a particular frame initiation detectionsequence (e.g., a particular autocorrelation or cross-correlationsequence) that may indicate that transmission of the first frame hasbegun. In these or other implementations, the Rx PHY may detect theparticular frame initiation detection sequence and may begin operationsfor reception of the first frame (e.g., via the first signal packet).

In these or other implementations, the Rx PHY may receive one or moresymbols of the first signal packet that may include header data of theheader portion of the first frame. The header data may indicate that thefirst signal frame (e.g., via the first signal packet) is designated forreception by the second device 104. Additionally or alternatively, theheader data may indicate a length of the first frame. The Rx PHY maycommunicate the received signal and/or data (e.g., the received headerdata) to the Rx MAC for processing and interpretation. For example, theRx MAC may receive the header data and, based on the header data, maydetermine that the first frame is intended for reception by the seconddevice 104. Additionally or alternatively, the Rx MAC may determine alength of the first frame and an expected transmission time of the firstframe based on the header data. In response to detecting the first frameand determining that the first frame is intended for the second device104, the second device 104 (e.g., via the Rx PHY and the Rx MAC) maybegin actively processing the data of the first frame as received viathe first signal packet.

Although not expressly illustrated in FIG. 1E, the third device 106and/or the fourth device 108 may also begin receiving the first signalpacket and may also detect the particular frame initiation detectionsequence. Additionally or alternatively, the third device 106 and/or thefourth device 108 may receive and process the header data. In these orother implementations, the third device 106 and/or the fourth device 108may not process any more of the data of the first frame, as received viathe first signal packet, in response to the header data indicating thatthe first frame is intended for the second device 104 and not the thirddevice 106 or the fourth device 108.

At operation 170 the first device 102 may continue transmitting thefirst frame. At operation 172, the second device 104 may continuereceiving the first frame.

At operation 174, the Tx MAC may communicate a termination command tothe Tx PHY. The termination command may direct termination of thewireless transmission of the first data frame via the first signalpacket. In addition, the Tx MAC may communicate the termination commandprior to all of the data of the first data frame being transmitted viathe first signal packet. In other words, the Tx MAC may communicate thetermination command prior to complete transmission of the first signalpacket.

In some implementations, the Tx MAC may communicate the terminationcommand in response to a determination that a time of transmission of atleast a portion of the data of the first frame is within a protectedwireless communication time slot. As indicated above, in some instances,the determination that the time of transmission may be within aprotected time slot may be based on the expected time of transmission ofthe first frame (e.g., as indicated by the header data) and the timethat the first frame began being transmitted after the contention periodof operation 164. Additionally or alternatively, the Tx MAC maycommunicate the termination command in response to the first framehaving a lower transmission priority than a second frame that isscheduled for transmission over the particular wireless channel. By wayof example, the lower priority frame 132 of FIG. 1B may be an example ofthe first frame. Additionally or alternatively, the higher priorityframe 134 of FIG. 1B may be an example of the second frame.

In some implementations, the first device 102 may determine thattransmission of the particular frame is to end prematurely and mayaccordingly initiate the termination command. Additionally oralternatively, another device may make the determination and communicatesuch to the first device 102. In these or other implementations, the TxMAC may communicate the termination command in response to the firstdevice 102 receiving an instruction from the other device. In these orother implementations, the determination may be made at the Tx MAC ofthe first device 102 or at the MAC layer of one or more of any otherapplicable device.

In these or other implementations, the Tx PHY may transmit a terminationsignal in response to receiving the termination command. The terminationsignal may be transmitted instead of the rest of the first signalpacket. As such, the termination signal may be transmitted instead ofthe data of the first frame, such as described with respect to FIG. 1D.The termination signal may include a particular detection property thatidentifies the termination signal, such as described above. Thetermination signal may indicate that transmission of the first frameterminated prior to completion of transmission of all of the data of theparticular frame. As indicated above, transmission of the terminationsignal may help the other devices of the environment 100 to prepare forthe wireless transmission of another frame (e.g., the higher prioritydata frame) via the wireless network 110.

For instance, during the transmission time frame of the first frame(e.g., as indicated by the header data of the first frame), the seconddevice 104 may be configured to monitor the wireless signals received atthe second device 104 to determine whether a received signal is atermination signal. For example, while receiving the first signal packetassociated with the first frame and while processing the correspondingdata, the second device 104 (e.g., via the T.S. detector 114 b) may beconfigured to monitor the received wireless signal (e.g., the firstsignal packet or the termination signal) for a particular detectionproperty that indicates reception of a termination signal.

In some implementations, the second device 104 may be configured tomonitor for the termination signal in parallel with the processing ofthe first signal packet and corresponding data. For example, thetransceiver system 112 b may be configured to direct received wirelesssignals to the T.S. detector 114 b in parallel with directing thereceived wireless signals to other receiver components that may perform“regular” processing of received signals. The parallel splitting of thereceived signals may be before or after digital conversion of thereceived signals depending on the particular implementation.

Reference to directing “received wireless signals” may include thedirecting of signals that are generated as part of transformation of thereceived wireless signals. For example, as indicated above, analogelectrical signals and digital signals may be generated based onreceived wireless signals. Reference to the directing of “receivedwireless signals” may accordingly include the directing of the generatedanalog electrical signals and/or the generated digital signals.

By way of example, at operation 178, the Rx PHY may receive thetermination signal transmitted at operation 176. Further, the seconddevice 104 (e.g., via the T.S. detector 114 b) may identify theparticular detection property of the termination signal. In response toidentifying the particular detection property in the received wirelesssignal, the second device 104 may recognize that the termination signalhas been received instead of the first signal packet. In response torecognizing that the termination signal has been received, the seconddevice 104 may be configured to determine that transmission of the firstsignal packet has been terminated prior to complete transmission of thefirst signal packet. The second device 104 may accordingly determinethat transmission of the first frame (e.g., via transmission of thefirst signal packet) has been terminated prior to all of the data of thefirst frame being transmitted. Conversely, in instances in which thereceived signal is the first signal packet (e.g., during the operation172), the second device 104 may continue normal processing of the dataof the first frame as carried by the first signal packet. In someimplementations, the detection and identification of the terminationsignal by the T.S. detector 114 b may be at the Rx PHY and may bereported to the Rx MAC via communication of information to one or moreRx MAC layer components.

At operation 180, in response to reception and recognition of thetermination signal, the second device 104 (e.g., via the Rx MAC) mayprepare for possible reception of another frame (e.g., the second frame)rather than continue to wait for reception of the remaining data of thefirst frame. For example, the Rx MAC may interrupt processing of thedata of the first frame. Additionally or alternatively, the Rx MAC mayreset a receive state machine of the second device such that the seconddevice may be ready to receive another frame. In contrast, if the seconddevice 104 were to continue to wait for reception of the remaining dataof the first frame, the second device 104 may not be in a state to beable to receive and process the other frame even if the other frame wereaddressed for reception at the second device 104.

In some implementations, at operation 182, the Rx MAC may communicate aready signal to the Rx PHY to indicate that the second device 104 isready to receive another frame. Additionally or alternatively, thesecond device 104 may be configured to acknowledge receipt of thetermination signal in response to identifying the termination signal.For example, at operation 184 the second device 104 may wirelesslytransmit an acknowledgement that may be received at the Tx PHY of thefirst device 102 and communicated to the Tx MAC at operation 186.

Additionally or alternatively, the second device 104 may communicate theacknowledgement via a wired or optical communication to the first device102. In these or other implementations, and although not illustrated inFIG. 1E, the second device 104 may communicate the acknowledgement toone or more other devices that may be part of and/or controlcommunications within the wireless network 110. In some implementations,the acknowledgement may indicate how much of and/or which data of thefirst frame was received by the second device 104 prior to terminationof transmission of the first frame.

Additionally, although not expressly illustrated in FIG. 1E, in someimplementations, during the transmission time frame of the first frame,the third device 106 and/or the fourth device 108 may also be configuredto monitor whether transmission of the termination signal has occurred.For example, during the transmission time frame of the first frame, thetransceiver systems 112 c and 112 d may receive wireless signalstransmitted over the particular channel (e.g., the first signal packetor the termination signal) and may direct the received wireless signalsto the T.S. detectors 114 c and 114 d, respectively. Like the T.S.detector 114 b, the T.S. detectors 114 c and 114 d may monitor thereceived signals for a particular detection property to determinewhether the termination signal has been received. In these or otherimplementations, the third device 106 and the fourth device 108 mayacknowledge reception of the termination signal.

The monitoring and detection of the termination signal by the thirddevice 106 and/or the fourth device 108 may also allow for thetransmission of another frame (e.g., the second frame) over theparticular wireless channel. For example, during transmission of thefirst frame, the third device 106 and/or the fourth device 108 may be ina reduced power state in which they may not be actively waiting forreception of another frame. As such, data of a different frame intendedfor them that is transmitted while they are in this state may not beproperly processed. Further, while in this state, the third device 106and/or the fourth device 108 may not be in a state to begin transmissionof another frame. However, in response to reception and recognition ofthe termination signal, the third device 106 and/or the fourth device108 may change a corresponding state to enable reception of anotherframe that may be intended for them or to enable transmission of anotherframe that they may be designated to transmit (e.g., the higher priorityframe for which transmission of the particular frame is prematurelyterminated). In contrast, without the reception and recognition of thetermination signal, the third device 106 and/or the fourth device 108may remain in the reduced-power state until after the originallyallocated transmission time of the entire first frame has ended (e.g.,as determined by the third device 106 and/or the fourth device 108 fromthe header data of the first frame).

In some implementations, the devices of the wireless network 110 mayprepare for the communication of another frame (e.g., the higherpriority second frame) in response to transmission of the terminationsignal. For example, at operation 188, after transmitting thetermination signal, the first device 102 may begin transmitting thesecond frame (e.g., via a second signal packet) in instances in whichthe first device 102 is designated to transmit the second frame.

As another example not illustrated in FIG. 1E, in response totransmitting the termination signal, the first device 102 may transitionto a receive state that is ready for reception of frames in instances inwhich the first device 102 is not designated to transmit the next frame.As such, the first device 102 may be prepared to receive the secondframe in instances in which the second frame is intended for the firstdevice 102. In some implementations, the first device 102 may beconfigured to prepare for the communication of the second frame inresponse to receiving the acknowledgment of receipt of the terminationsignal at operations 184 and 186.

As another example, the second device 104 may prepare for the possiblereception of the other frame in response to identifying reception of thetermination signal. For example, as indicated above, the second device104 may reset its receive state machine at operation 180 as part of thepreparation. In these or other implementations, at operation 188, thesecond device 104 may perform any suitable receive operation withrespect to the second frame in instances in which the second frame istransmitted to the second device 104.

Additionally or alternatively, as another example not expresslyillustrated in FIG. 1E, the second device 104 may transition to atransmit state in instances in which the second device 104 is designatedto transmit the second frame. In response to identifying reception ofthe termination signal, the third device 106 and/or fourth device 108may similarly prepare to transmit or possibly receive the next framedepending on whether they are designated to transmit the next frame.

In some implementations, the first device 102 may be configured totransmit the unsent data of the prematurely terminated first frame at alater time. For example, the first device 102 may transmit the unsentdata to the second device 104 after the transmission of a superseding,higher priority, frame has finished. Additionally or alternatively, thefirst device 102 may transmit the unsent data after a protected timeslot that prompted early termination has expired. In these or otherimplementations, the transmission of the unsent data may be part of anew frame transmitted via a new signal packet.

For example, at operation 190, the first device 102 may transmit a thirdframe to the second device 104 (e.g., via a third signal packet) inwhich the third frame includes the unsent data of the first frame. Insome instances, the third frame may include some of the data of thefirst frame that was already sent during operation 170. Additionally oralternatively, the third frame may include other data that was notdesignated for transmission with the first frame. In someimplementations, the first device 102 may know which data of the firstframe to send based on data provided by the second device 104 withrespect to which data of the first frame was received. Additionally oralternatively, the first device 102 may be configured to determine whichof the data of the first frame to send in the third frame based on ananalysis of when the first device 102 terminated transmission of thefirst frame.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the sequence 160without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example,the order of some of the operations may be different than from thatdescribed herein. Additionally, although the first frame and the secondframe are illustrated as being transmitted between the same devices(e.g., the first device 102 and the second device 104), the first frameand the second frame may be communicated between one or more differentdevices. For example, the second frame may be transmitted by the firstdevice 102 to the third device 106 or the fourth device 108; the secondframe may be transmitted by the second device 104 to the first device102, the third device 106, or the fourth device 108; the second framemay be transmitted by the third device 106 to the first device 102, thesecond device 104, or the fourth device 108; or the second frame may betransmitted by the fourth device 108 to the first device 102, the seconddevice 104, or the third device 106. Additionally or alternatively, thetransmission of the first frame may be terminated and there may not betransmission of a second frame prior to transmitting the remainingunsent data of the first frame in the third frame.

Further, the particular scenario described with respect to FIG. 1E ismerely an example and not meant to be limiting. For example,implementations of the present disclosure related to transmitting atermination signal may apply in any suitable situation within anysuitable network in which the transmission of a frame may beintentionally cut short and are not limited to only contention-basednetworks and the particular reasons for terminating a frame describedherein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example computing system 202that may be used to perform or direct performance of one or moreoperations described according to at least one implementation of thepresent disclosure. The computing system 202 may be included in thefirst device 102, the second device 104, the third device 106, and/orthe fourth device 108 of FIG. 1A in some implementations. The computingsystem 202 may include a processor 250, a memory 252, and a data storage254. The processor 250, the memory 252, and the data storage 254 may becommunicatively coupled.

In general, the processor 250 may include any suitable special-purposeor general-purpose computer, computing entity, or processing deviceincluding various computer hardware or software modules and may beconfigured to execute instructions stored on any applicablecomputer-readable storage media. For example, the processor 250 mayinclude a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor(DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), aField-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or any other digital or analogcircuitry configured to interpret and/or to execute computer-executableinstructions and/or to process data. Although illustrated as a singleprocessor in FIG. 2, the processor 250 may include any number ofprocessors configured to, individually or collectively, perform ordirect performance of any number of operations described in the presentdisclosure.

In some implementations, the processor 250 may be configured tointerpret and/or execute computer-executable instructions and/or processdata stored in the memory 252, the data storage 254, or the memory 252and the data storage 254. In some implementations, the processor 250 mayfetch computer-executable instructions from the data storage 254 andload the computer-executable instructions in the memory 252. After thecomputer-executable instructions are loaded into memory 252, theprocessor 250 may execute the computer-executable instructions.

The memory 252 and the data storage 254 may include computer-readablestorage media for carrying or having computer-executable instructions ordata structures stored thereon. Such computer-readable storage media mayinclude any available media that may be accessed by a general-purpose orspecial-purpose computer, such as the processor 250. By way of example,and not limitation, such computer-readable storage media may includetangible or non-transitory computer-readable storage media includingRandom Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), ElectricallyErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Compact Disc Read-OnlyMemory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, flash memory devices (e.g., solid statememory devices), or any other storage medium which may be used to carryor store particular program code in the form of computer-executableinstructions or data structures and which may be accessed by ageneral-purpose or special-purpose computer. Combinations of the abovemay also be included within the scope of computer-readable storagemedia. Computer-executable instructions may include, for example,instructions and data configured to cause the processor 250 to perform acertain operation or group of operations.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the computingsystem 202 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.For example, in some implementations, the computing system 202 mayinclude any number of other components that may not be explicitlyillustrated or described.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example method 300 of terminatingtransmission of a data frame, according to at least one implementationdescribed in the present disclosure. The method 300 may be performed byany suitable system, apparatus, or device. For example, the method 300may be performed by one or more of the devices of FIG. 1A. Additionallyor alternatively, one or more of the operations may be performed ordirected for performance by a computing system, such as the computingsystem 202 of FIG. 2. Although illustrated with discrete blocks, thesteps and operations associated with one or more of the blocks of themethod 300 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewerblocks, or eliminated, depending on the particular implementation.Further, one or more of the operations of method 300 may be performed aspart of the sequence 160 of FIG. 1E.

At block 302, wireless transmission of a first data frame may beinitiated. Data of the first data frame may be designated for wirelesstransmission via a first wireless signal packet configured to carry thedata of the first data frame. At block 302, in some implementations,transmission of the first wireless signal packet may begin in responseto the initiating of wireless transmission.

At block 304, termination of the wireless transmission of the first dataframe via the first wireless signal packet may be directed. Thedirecting of termination may be prior to wireless transmission, via thefirst wireless signal packet, of all of the data of the first dataframe. In some implementations, the directing the termination of thewireless transmission of the first data frame (and subsequenttermination of transmission of the first data frame via termination ofthe first signal packet) may be in response to a determination that atime of transmission of at least a portion of the data of the first dataframe, via the first wireless signal packet, is within a protectedwireless communication time slot. Additionally or alternatively, thedirecting the termination of the wireless transmission of the first dataframe (and subsequent termination of transmission of the first dataframe via termination of the first signal packet) may be in response tothe first data frame having a lower transmission priority than a seconddata frame scheduled for wireless transmission. The termination of thewireless transmission of the first data frame may include termination oftransmission of the first wireless signal packet prior to completetransmission of the first signal packet in some implementations and maybe performed in response to the directing.

At block 306, wireless transmission of a termination signal may bedirected. The directing of the transmission of the termination signalmay be in response to termination of transmission of the first dataframe. The termination signal may indicate that transmission of thefirst data frame, via the first wireless signal packet, terminated priorto completion of transmission of all of the data of the first data framevia the first wireless signal packet. Accordingly, the terminationsignal may also indicate that transmission of the first signal packetterminated prior to complete transmission of the data of the first dataframe. In some implementations, the termination signal may betransmitted at block 306 in response to the directing of transmission ofthe termination signal. In some implementations, the termination signalmay include a signal sequence that has a particular detection propertythat a receiving device is configured to recognize as corresponding totermination of wireless transmission of the first data frame ortermination of first wireless signal packet.

Modifications may be made to the method 300 without departing from thescope of the present disclosure. For example, in some implementations,some of the operations of the method 300 may be in a different orderthan described. Further, additional operations may be included in themethod 300 or one or more operations may be omitted.

For instance, the method 300 may include directing wireless transmissionof the higher priority second data frame after transmission of the firstdata frame has been terminated. Further, the method 300 may includetransmission of the second data frame in response to a receiving deviceacknowledging receipt of the termination signal. In addition, the method300 may include directing wireless transmission, via another wirelesssignal packet, of (and/or the actual transmission of) a previouslyunsent portion of the data of the first data frame that was not sentprior to termination of wireless transmission of the first data frame.Additionally or alternatively, the method 300 may include directing thewireless transmission of (and/or the actual transmission of) thepreviously unsent portion of the data is in response to transmission ofthe higher priority second data frame being finished and/or in responseto the protected time slot expiring.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example method 400 of receiving atermination signal, according to at least one implementation describedin the present disclosure. The method 400 may be performed by anysuitable system, apparatus, or device. For example, the method 400 maybe performed by one or more of the devices of FIG. 1A. Additionally oralternatively, one or more of the operations may be performed ordirected for performance by a computing system, such as the computingsystem 202 of FIG. 2. Although illustrated with discrete blocks, thesteps and operations associated with one or more of the blocks of themethod 400 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewerblocks, or eliminated, depending on the particular implementation.Further, one or more of the operations of method 400 may be performed aspart of the sequence 160 of FIG. 1E.

At block 402, a receiving device may begin to receive a first wirelesssignal packet configured to carry data of a first data frame. The firstwireless signal packet may be transmitted by a transmitting device. Theterms “receiving device” and “transmitting device” are used with respectto reception and transmission of the first wireless signal packet and donot foreclose the “receiving device” from being able to performtransmitting operations, or vice versa.

At block 404, the receiving device may receive a termination signaltransmitted by the transmitting device. The termination signal may bereceived prior to complete reception of the first wireless signal packetand may indicate that the first wireless signal packet terminated priorto complete transmission of the first wireless signal packet. Thetermination signal may include a signal sequence that has a particulardetection property and the identifying of reception of the terminationsignal may be in response to recognizing the particular detectionproperty in the received termination signal. In some implementations,the receiving device may monitor for the termination signal whileprocessing the data of the first data frame that is received viareception of the first wireless signal packet. Additionally oralternatively, the monitoring may be performed in parallel withprocessing the data.

At block 406, the receiving device may determine, in response toidentifying reception of the termination signal, that transmission ofthe first wireless signal packet has been terminated prior to completetransmission of the first wireless signal packet. In these or otherimplementations, the receiving device may prepare to receive a secondwireless signal packet in response to determining that the transmissionof the first wireless signal packet has been terminated. In someimplementations, the receiving device may prepare by resetting a receivestate machine of the receiving device.

Modifications may be made to the method 400 without departing from thescope of the present disclosure. For example, in some implementations,some of the operations of the method 400 may be in a different orderthan described. Further, additional operations may be included in themethod 400 or one or more operations may be omitted.

For instance, the method 400 may include receiving a second wirelesssignal packet after wireless transmission of a second data frame that isprioritized over the first data frame has finished. The second wirelesssignal packet may carry a previously unreceived portion of the data ofthe first data frame that was not received prior to termination of thefirst wireless signal packet.

Some portions of the detailed description are presented in terms ofalgorithms and symbolic representations of operations within a computer.These algorithmic descriptions and symbolic representations are themeans used by those skilled in the data processing arts to convey theessence of their innovations to others skilled in the art. An algorithmis a series of configured operations leading to a desired end state orresult. In example implementations, the operations carried out requirephysical manipulations of tangible quantities for achieving a tangibleresult.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the discussion,it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizingterms such as detecting, determining, analyzing, identifying, scanningor the like, can include the actions and processes of a computer systemor other information processing device that manipulates and transformsdata represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computersystem's registers and memories into other data similarly represented asphysical quantities within the computer system's memories or registersor other information storage, transmission or display devices.

Example implementations may also relate to an apparatus for performingthe operations herein (e.g., one or more of the devices of FIG. 1A).This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes,or it may include one or more general-purpose computers selectivelyactivated or reconfigured by one or more computer programs. Suchcomputer programs may be stored in a computer readable medium, such as acomputer-readable storage medium or a computer-readable signal medium.Computer-executable instructions may include, for example, instructionsand data which cause a general-purpose computer, special-purposecomputer, or special-purpose processing device (e.g., one or moreprocessors) to perform or control performance of a certain function orgroup of functions.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter configured in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

An example apparatus can include a Wireless Access Point (WAP) or astation and incorporating a VLSI processor and program code to support.An example transceiver couples via an integral modem to one of a cable,fiber or digital subscriber backbone connection to the Internet tosupport wireless communications, e.g. IEEE 802.11 compliantcommunications, on a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). The WiFi stageincludes a baseband stage, and the analog front end (AFE) and RadioFrequency (RF) stages. In the baseband portion wireless communicationstransmitted to or received from each user/client/station are processed.The AFE and RF portion handles the upconversion on each of transmitpaths of wireless transmissions initiated in the baseband. The RFportion also handles the downconversion of the signals received on thereceive paths and passes them for further processing to the baseband.

An example apparatus can be a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)apparatus supporting as many as N×N discrete communication streams overN antennas. In an example the MIMO apparatus signal processing units canbe implemented as N×N. In various implementations, the value of N can be4, 6, 8, 12, 16, etc. Extended MIMO operation enables the use of up to2N antennae in communication with another similarly equipped wirelesssystem. It should be noted that extended MIMO systems can communicatewith other wireless systems even if the systems do not have the samenumber of antennae, but some of the antennae of one of the stationsmight not be utilized, reducing optimal performance.

Channel State Information (CSI) from any of the devices described hereincan be extracted independent of changes related to channel stateparameters and used for spatial diagnosis services of the network suchas motion detection, proximity detection, and localization which can beutilized in, for example, WLAN diagnosis, home security, health caremonitoring, smart home utility control, elder care, automotive trackingand monitoring, home or mobile entertainment, automotive infotainment,and the like.

Unless specific arrangements described herein are mutually exclusivewith one another, the various implementations described herein can becombined in whole or in part to enhance system functionality and/or toproduce complementary functions. Likewise, aspects of theimplementations may be implemented in standalone arrangements. Thus, theabove description has been given by way of example only and modificationin detail may be made within the scope of the present invention.

The subject technology of the present invention is illustrated, forexample, according to various aspects described below. Various examplesof aspects of the subject technology are described as numbered examples(1, 2, 3, etc.) for convenience. These are provided as examples and donot limit the subject technology. The aspects of the variousimplementations described herein may be omitted, substituted for aspectsof other implementations, or combined with aspects of otherimplementations unless context dictates otherwise. For example, one ormore aspects of example 1 below may be omitted, substituted for one ormore aspects of another example (e.g., example 2) or examples, orcombined with aspects of another example The following is a non-limitingsummary of some example implementations presented herein.

Example 1

A method comprising:

initiating wireless transmission of a first data frame of datadesignated for wireless transmission, the wireless transmission of thefirst data frame being via a first wireless signal packet configured tocarry the data of the first data frame;

directing termination of the wireless transmission of the first dataframe via the first wireless signal packet prior to wirelesstransmission, via the first wireless signal packet, of all of the dataof the first data frame; and

directing, in response to termination of transmission of the first dataframe, wireless transmission of a termination signal, the terminationsignal indicating that transmission of the first data frame via thefirst wireless signal packet terminated prior to completion oftransmission of all of the data of the first data frame via the firstwireless signal packet.

Example 2

A method comprising:

beginning to receive, at a receiving device, a first wireless signalpacket configured to carry data of a first data frame, the firstwireless signal packet being transmitted by a transmitting device;

prior to complete reception of the first wireless signal packet,receiving, at the receiving device, a termination signal transmitted bythe transmitting device, the termination signal interrupting the firstwireless signal packet and indicating that the first wireless signalpacket terminated prior to complete transmission of the first wirelesssignal packet; and

determining, at the receiving device in response to identifyingreception of the termination signal, that transmission of the firstwireless signal packet has been terminated prior to completetransmission of the first wireless signal packet.

Example 3

A system comprising:

hardware configured to perform operations, the operations comprising:

begin transmission of a first wireless signal packet configured to carrydata of a first data frame designated for wireless transmission;

terminate transmission of the first wireless signal packet prior tocomplete transmission of the data of the first data frame via the firstwireless signal packet; and

transmit a termination signal, the termination signal indicating thattransmission of the first wireless signal packet has been terminatedprior to complete transmission of the data of the first data frame.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural or singular termsherein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural tothe singular or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to thecontext or application. The various singular/plural permutations may beexpressly set forth herein for sake of clarity. A reference to anelement in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one”unless specifically stated, but rather “one or more.” Moreover, nothingdisclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless ofwhether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the above description.

In general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims(e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open”terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “includingbut not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “havingat least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but isnot limited to,” etc.). Furthermore, in those instances where aconvention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, ingeneral, such a construction is intended in the sense one having skillin the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having atleast one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systemsthat include A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and Ctogether, B and C together, or A, B, and C together, etc.). Also, aphrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to include one ofthe terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase“A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B”or “A and B.” This interpretation of the phrase “A or B” is stillapplicable even though the term “A and/or B” may be used at times toinclude the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

Additionally, the use of the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., arenot necessarily used herein to connote a specific order or number ofelements. Generally, the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., areused to distinguish between different elements as generic identifiers.Absence a showing that the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” etc.,connote a specific order, these terms should not be understood toconnote a specific order. Furthermore, absence a showing that the termsfirst,” “second,” “third,” etc., connote a specific number of elements,these terms should not be understood to connote a specific number ofelements.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or essential characteristics. The describedimplementations are to be considered in all respects only asillustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is,therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription. All changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: initiating wirelesstransmission of a first data frame of data designated for wirelesstransmission, the wireless transmission of the first data frame beingvia a first wireless signal packet configured to carry the data of thefirst data frame; in response to the first data frame having a lowertransmission priority than a second data frame scheduled for wirelesstransmission, directing termination of the wireless transmission of thefirst data frame via the first wireless signal packet prior to wirelesstransmission, via the first wireless signal packet, of all of the dataof the first data frame; and directing, in response to termination oftransmission of the first data frame, wireless transmission of atermination signal, the termination signal indicating that transmissionof the first data frame via the first wireless signal packet terminatedprior to completion of transmission of all of the data of the first dataframe via the first wireless signal packet.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein termination of the wireless transmission of the first data frameincludes termination of transmission of the first wireless signalpacket.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the directing the terminationof the wireless transmission of the first data frame is further inresponse to a determination that a time of transmission of at least aportion of the data of the first data frame, via the first wirelesssignal packet, is within a protected wireless communication time slot.4. The method of claim 1, further comprising directing wirelesstransmission of the second data frame after transmission of the firstdata frame has been terminated.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein asecond data frame is transmitted in response to a receiving deviceacknowledging receipt of the termination signal.
 6. The method of claim1, further comprising directing wireless transmission, via a secondwireless signal packet, of a previously unsent portion of the data ofthe first data frame that was not sent prior to termination of wirelesstransmission of the first data frame.
 7. The method of claim 6, whereindirecting the wireless transmission of the previously unsent portion ofthe data is in response to transmission of a second data frame beingfinished.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the termination signalincludes a signal sequence that has a particular detection property thata receiving device is configured to recognize as corresponding totermination of wireless transmission of the first data frame.
 9. Amethod comprising: beginning to receive, at a receiving device, a firstwireless signal packet configured to carry data of a first data frame,the first wireless signal packet being transmitted by a transmittingdevice; prior to complete reception of the first wireless signal packet,receiving, at the receiving device, a termination signal transmitted bythe transmitting device, the termination signal interrupting the firstwireless signal packet and indicating that the first wireless signalpacket terminated prior to complete transmission of the first wirelesssignal packet, the termination signal sent based on the first data framehaving a lower transmission priority than a second data frame scheduledfor wireless transmission; and determining, at the receiving device inresponse to identifying reception of the termination signal, thattransmission of the first wireless signal packet has been terminatedprior to complete transmission of the first wireless signal packet. 10.The method of claim 9, further comprising preparing, at the receivingdevice, to receive a second wireless signal packet in response todetermining that the transmission of the first wireless signal packethas been terminated.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein preparing toreceive the second wireless signal packet includes resetting a receivestate machine of the receiving device.
 12. The method of claim 9,further comprising monitoring for the termination signal whileprocessing the data of the first data frame that is received viareception of the first wireless signal packet.
 13. The method of claim12, wherein the monitoring for the termination signal is performed inparallel with processing the data.
 14. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising receiving a second wireless signal packet after wirelesstransmission of a second data frame that is prioritized over the firstdata frame has finished, wherein the second wireless signal packetcarries a previously unreceived portion of the data of the first dataframe that was not received prior to termination of the first wirelesssignal packet.
 15. The method of claim 9, wherein: the terminationsignal includes a signal sequence that has a particular detectionproperty; and the identifying of reception of the termination signal isin response to recognizing the particular detection property in thereceived termination signal.
 16. A system comprising: hardwareconfigured to perform operations, the operations comprising: begintransmission of a first wireless signal packet configured to carry dataof a first data frame designated for wireless transmission; in responseto the first data frame having a lower transmission priority than asecond data frame scheduled for wireless transmission, terminatetransmission of the first wireless signal packet prior to completetransmission of the data of the first data frame via the first wirelesssignal packet; and transmit a termination signal, the termination signalindicating that transmission of the first wireless signal packet hasbeen terminated prior to complete transmission of the data of the firstdata frame.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein transmission of thefirst wireless signal packet is terminated further in response to adetermination that a time of transmission of at least a portion of thedata of the first data frame, via the first wireless signal packet, iswithin a protected wireless communication time slot.
 18. The system ofclaim 16, wherein the termination signal includes a signal sequence thathas a particular detection property that a receiving device isconfigured to recognize as corresponding to termination of the firstwireless signal packet.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein a firstdevice initiates the transmission of the first data frame and a seconddevice different from the first device is scheduled to transmit thesecond data frame.
 20. The method of claim 9, wherein the first dataframe is being transmitted from a first device, and the second dataframe is scheduled for transmission from a second device different fromthe first device.